Barack Obama Votes

Barack and Michelle Obama vote in Hyde Park on November 4, 2008.

obama Victory D.C.

Obama Victory Chicago (Grant Park)

President-Elect Barack Obama in Chicago

Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States on November 4th, 2008 in Chicago.

Obama Leading McCain in New Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota Polls

Oct. 6

(Bloomberg) -- Democrat Barack Obama leads Republican presidential nominee John McCain in battleground states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Minnesota, according to new polls.

Obama, an Illinois senator, leads 49 percent to 42 percent among Ohio voters, according to a Columbus Dispatch poll of 2,262 likely voters released yesterday.

The survey, conducted Sept. 24 to Oct. 3, shows a change from a poll by the newspaper before the parties' nominating conventions, when McCain had a single percentage-point advantage. The state is crucial to the Arizona senator's campaign, because no Republican has won the presidency without carrying Ohio.

Polls in Ohio ``are showing increased support for Barack Obama,'' because voters are paying attention to McCain's support for privatizing Social Security, backing ``job-killing trade agreements,'' and his backing of deregulation of the banking system, Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown said on ABC's ``This Week'' program yesterday.

A Minnesota poll of 1,084 likely voters published by the Star Tribune newspaper shows Obama leading 55-37 percent over McCain. The poll was conducted from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2.

Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota said the Star Tribune poll is ``notoriously not accurate,'' and said a separate earlier poll found McCain favored by 1 percentage point.

``Minnesota is a Democrat-leaning state, but not so much that it's implausible for a Republican to win here,'' Pawlenty said on ``This Week.''

Pennsylvania Poll

In Pennsylvania, Obama has a 50 percent to 40 percent lead over McCain, according to a Morning Call/Muhlenberg College tracking poll.

The Muhlenberg College poll surveyed 597 likely voters and was conducted from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3. The results of the three state polls were outside the margin for error.

The presidential race in Colorado remains a tie, according to a poll released by the Denver Post yesterday.

National polls also show that Obama is maintaining a lead over McCain.

Obama led McCain 49 percent to 42 percent among registered voters surveyed Sept. 27-29 by the Pew Research Center. In a mid- September poll, the candidates were in a statistical dead heat.

In a CBS News poll conducted Sept. 27-30, Obama led 50 percent to 41 percent among likely voters. The margin increased 4 percentage points from a CBS/New York Times survey a week earlier.

To contact the reporter on this story: Christopher Stern in Washington at cstern3@bloomberg.net

Presidential Debate 2008 - Obama McCain

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E60 - Reggie Love From Duke To Washington

E60 - Reggie Love From Duke To Washington


Reggie Love, a former Duke University football and basketball player, tried to make it in the NFL, but after tryouts with the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys fizzled in 2004 and 2005, he landed a job on U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's staff, starting in the mail room and rising to his current position as his personal aide. Rachel Nichols gets an all-access pass on the campaign trail. Through interviews with Love and Obama along the way, we'll show you just what a body man does, how Love finds himself now in a position of a lifetime, and the bond that has formed between Love and the Illinois senator.

Barack Obama at the 2008 DNC

Biden pick draws Democratic praise, GOP criticism

By BETH FOUHY and CHRISTOPHER WILLS, Associated Press Writers

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Democrats quickly coalesced around Sen. Joe Biden as Barack Obama's running mate on Saturday while Republicans recycled the Delaware lawmaker's less-than-favorable past descriptions of his new political benefactor.

As the newly minted ticket readied for its first joint appearance, in Springfield, Ill., former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton called Biden "an exceptionally strong, experienced leader and devoted public servant." Clinton, Obama's most persistent rival through the primaries and the caucuses, was an also-ran in Obama's vice presidential search.

Freshly printed signs saying "Obama/Biden" sprouted in front of the Old State capitol as thousands gathered in anticipation of the first campaign appearance by the party's ticket for the fall campaign.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Democrats quickly coalesced around Sen. Joe Biden as Barack Obama's running mate on Saturday while Republicans recycled the Delaware lawmaker's less-than-favorable past descriptions of his new political benefactor.

As the newly minted ticket readied for its first joint appearance, in Springfield, Ill., former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton called Biden "an exceptionally strong, experienced leader and devoted public servant." Clinton, Obama's most persistent rival through the primaries and the caucuses, was an also-ran in Obama's vice presidential search.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the Obama-Biden ticket will bring the change the country needs, including a filibuster-proof Senate majority.

The Democratic National Convention opens on Monday in Denver and will formally anoint Obama as the party's presidential nominee later in the week.

Biden's approval as running mate is likewise assured, his selection an attempt by Obama to balance the ticket with a seasoned senator, widely regarded for his foreign policy expertise.

Sen. John McCain, Obama's Republican rival in the race for the White House, called Biden, his longtime Senate colleague and friend, to congratulate him.

But McCain's campaign wasted no time trying to turn the selection to its own purposes.

It quickly produced a television ad featuring Biden's previous praise for McCain and comments critical of Obama. In an ABC interview last year, Biden had said he stood by an earlier statement that Obama wasn't yet ready to be president and "the presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training."

Biden drew praise from some Senate Republicans, including Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, with whom he has worked closely over the years. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., called Biden "the right partner for Barack Obama" and the decision "good news for Obama and America."

The Obama-Biden rally was set for the old state Capitol where the Illinois senator kicked off his presidential campaign nearly 20 months ago. Aides said the candidates would be joined by their wives and the Bidens' three adult children, Hunter, Beau and Ashley.

Biden made the trip from his home in Delaware by chartered jet, pausing long enough to wave to well-wishers gathered to see him off.

The Obama campaign sent a text message announcing his choice to supporters' phones and e-mail addresses about 3 a.m. EDT, the latest innovation by a tech-savvy operation that has deftly used the Web as a fundraising and organizing tool. A meticulously planned rollout was pre-empted when word of Obama's choice was reported on Friday night.

Bill Burton, a spokesman for the campaign, said Obama had called Biden on Thursday to offer him the vice presidential spot on the ticket. Michelle Obama placed a call Saturday morning to Biden's wife, Jill, to congratulate her.

But the secret held for more than 24 hours as speculation swirled around a list of potential running mates that included Govs. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana and Rep. Rep. Chet Edwards of Texas.

Biden, 65, is a creature of Washington, a 35-year Senate veteran and chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee whose national security credentials will help patch a hole in Obama's relatively thin resume. Polls show that McCain holds a wide lead over Obama on the question of who is better prepared to be commander in chief.

Biden's straightforward style and working-class Catholic roots in Scranton, Pa., were also expected to help Obama appeal to middle- and working-class voters in battleground states like Ohio and Pennsylvania who favored Clinton in the primaries.

Officials close to Clinton said she was never formally vetted for the No. 2 position. The former first lady, who finished narrowly behind Obama in the primaries, will address the convention Tuesday night and her name will be placed in nomination even though she has endorsed Obama and has urged her delegates to support him.

"Sen. Biden will be a purposeful and dynamic vice president who will help Sen. Obama both win the presidency and govern this great country," Clinton said in the statement.

Biden has established a generally liberal voting record and a reputation as a long-winded orator. As a member of the Judiciary Committee — he was its chairman from 1987 to 1995 — he has played a key role in considering anti-crime legislation, Supreme Court nominees and constitutional issues.

While the war in Iraq has been supplanted as the campaign's top issues by the economy in recent months, the recent Russian invasion of Georgia has returned foreign policy to the forefront.

Biden was elected to the Senate at the age of 29 in 1972, but personal tragedy struck before he could take office. His wife and their 13-month-old daughter, Naomi, were killed when a tractor-trailer broad-sided her station wagon. Biden took his oath of office for his first term at the hospital bedside of one of his sons.

Biden dropped out of the 2008 race for the Democratic presidential nomination after a poor finish in the Iowa caucuses, but not before he talked dismissively of joining someone else's ticket.

He had stumbled on his first day in the race, apologizing for having described Obama as "clean." Months later, Obama spoke up in Biden's defense, praising him during a campaign debate for having worked for racial equality.

It was Biden's second try for the White House. The first ended badly in 1988 when he was caught lifting lines from a speech by British Labor Party leader Neil Kinnock.

Barack Obama in Berlin

Barack Obama addresses a crowd of over 200,000 people in Tiergarten, Berlin.

"Dignity" TV Ad

Airing in eighteen states, "Dignity" highlights Senator Obama's decision to bypass big money jobs and help lift neighborhoods stung by job loss. The ad illustrates Senator Obama's record of working hard to move people from welfare to work, passing tax cuts for workers and providing healthcare for children.

Unite For Change: Barack Obama & Hiary Clintion in Unity, NH

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Supporters Unite in Unity, New Hampshire

Supporters in the crowd share their thoughts about the Unite for Change event with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in Unity, New Hampshire.

Unite for Change: House Parties Video

On June 28, all across America thousands of people will gather in each others homes to discuss why they're involved in politics. Find out more at my.barackobama.com/uniteforcha nge

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in Unity, NH

Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton address united democrats from Unity, New Hampshire - where each received exactly 107 votes in the New Hampshire Primary.

David Plouffe on Our Strategy

Campaign Manager David Plouffe records a video to supporters on a laptop, sharing his presentation about the Obama campaign's strategy for the general election.

Poll: Obama Tops McCain in 4 Battleground States

Barack Obama is leading by varying margins in the four battleground states of Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin and Colorado, according to a Quinnipiac University poll out Thursday done in conjunction with The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

The largest gap exists with 17 percent, 54-37, of Minnesota’s 1,572 like voters preferring Obama over Republican John McCain. The margin of error was 2.5 percent.

In Michigan, 1,411 likely voters put Obama over McCain 48-42 percent, with a margin of error of 2.6 percent.

In Wisconsin, 1,537 likely voters gave Obama a 52-39 advantage over McCain, with a margin of error of 2.5 percent.

In Colorado, 1,351 likely voters gave Obama a 5 point lead over McCain, 49-44, with a margin of error of 2.7 percent.

The vital vote by independents gave Obama an even greater edge of eight to 21 points in each key state, the poll reports. The smallest deficit among independents exists in Michigan and the largest in Minnesota.

The poll found independents continue to reject the idea of an Obama-Clinton ticket by 16 to 29 percentage points.

McCain’s lead among white voters in Colorado and Michigan is credited with pulling down Obama’s lead in those states to single digits, the poll found.

“November can’t get here soon enough for Sen. Barack Obama. He has a lead everywhere, and if nothing changes between now and November he will make history,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. However, “his lead nationally, and double digits in some key states, is not hugely different from where Sen. John Kerry stood four years ago at this point in the campaign.”

An Important Campaign Announcement from Barack Obama

Barack Obama talks about the decision to opt-out of the broken public financing system.

Michelle Obama on The View

Michelle Obama co-hosts the view with Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, and Sherri Shepherd.

Obama beats McCain in three swing states: poll

WASHINGTON (AFP) - For the first time, White House hopeful Barack Obama leads his Republican rival John McCain in three of the biggest battlegrounds of November's election, according to a new poll Wednesday.

The surveys by Quinnipiac University also found independent voters are opposed to defeated primary contender Hillary Clinton running as Obama's running mate on the Democratic ticket.

Another poll out Wednesday by Zogby had Obama leading McCain by 47 percent to 42 nationally, with a 22-point lead among all-important independents.

The Quinnipiac polls had Obama besting McCain 52-40 percent in Pennsylvania, 48-42 percent in Ohio, and 47-43 in Florida. All three states are crucial building blocks to an election triumph for either candidate in November.

In all three states, Obama leads McCain among female voters by 10 to 23 percentage points, but among men the two contenders are "too close to call," Quinnipiac University Polling Institute assistant director Peter Brown said.

"Finally getting Senator Hillary Clinton out of the race has been a big boost for Senator Barack Obama," he said.

Clinton beat Obama in the three states' Democratic primaries, although neither campaigned in Florida because of a scheduling row. Obama lagged particularly among working-class voters in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

"Senator Obama is certainly not out of the woods, but these results are a good indication that he enters the summer slightly ahead in the race to be the next president," Brown said.

The Quinnipiac surveys found that while most Democrats back Clinton to join Obama's ticket, clear pluralities of independent voters in all three states were against seeing the former first lady run as his vice president.

"If Senator Obama seriously is thinking about picking Senator Clinton as his running mate, these numbers might cause him to reconsider," Brown said.

"The people who really matter come November -- independent voters -- turn thumbs down on the idea. And, many say they are less likely to vote for him if he puts her on the ticket," he said.

The Quinnipiac polls also suggested that one in five voters see McCain's age as a reason to vote against him. At 72 in January, the Republican would be the oldest president sworn in to a first term.

"But overwhelmingly they don't see Obama's race as a factor at all -- indicating that Americans are either much less concerned with race, or just don't want to tell callers what they really think on the subject," Brown said.